Welcome to the Hustler Forum -- Check in Here First!

60inchzeroturnraptorsd,

Hope you enjoy the lil RSD60. Run it like you stole it and fix it if you break it. You'll be happy you did.

There are quite a few upgrades you can do yourself. Many of them will pay for the time and effort in your very first mowing.

Run over to YouTube to this channel for many do it yourself upgrades and modifications, you'll find several there with more on the way.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKGtOepm7R0526XE2HPZUDg?view_as=public

Welcome to the forums,
Max

I'm new around here, recently bought a 54" Big Dog Alpha MP, since I understand it's the same as a Hustler SP, I figured I would pursue this subsection

bigred,

You're in the right place! Welcome aboard.

Max

Muhammad said:

GREETINGS to all Hustler mower owners!

If you're new to the forum, please reply to this thread and introduce yourself and your mower (that is, if your mower have a name). Maybe attach a photo or two of your mower and show off your pride and joy.

Also, if you haven't done so already, you can upload a user avatar (picture under your user name). You can do so by clicking on settings and "edit avatar" or just click here.

Please be helpful and friendly to all other Hustler owners (how could you not, right?) and if you like this forum, tell your friends about it.

We want to make this the best resource for Hustler mower owners, and to do that we need your help! Questions? Experiences? Stories? Data? Photos? Articles? Links? Cool Hustler stuff? Post it here!

Last but not least, please let me know if you have any suggestions for the site. We'd love to hear them.

Click to expand...

Hello, Dave here, thanks for the addition to the group. Owner of a Hustler Diesel Z 72 inch cut....hope to update with info as we go ,I have had to replace the mower drive belt so if any one would like a source for a good belt that worked for me it was a Gates B230 90032230.

Hi, new owner of a 2018 Raptor Limited I took delivery of today. Did my first cut and so far so good. Not totally satisfied with the quality of the cut (there’s some clear missed blades all over the lawn, may just be a sharpness issue) Came here for answers to questions and solutions to any issues I may have. Thanks!

WC_LTZ,

Welcome to the forums. What kind of grass do you have, is it dry right now, are you cutting it high? Lots of questions about the orphan blades of grass standing up agonizing you. By the way, the blades are usually pretty sharp from the manufacturer. Take a look at them, if they need sharpening, can't hurt to sharpen them. It isn't really worth a trip back to the dealership for a dull blade. When you get them back, it may not be to your liking. It is always better to sharpen your blades to your own liking.

If you have a question, someone will do their level best to give you a solution to your problem.

Good luck,

Max

Zero turn mowers are pretty fast so it's easy to cut too fast resulting in cut quality problems, especially with stalky grasses and weeds. Thin turf and cutting over 3.5 inches tends to make it worse. Not sure any of that is applicable but some things to consider. Also improper deck pitch can create cut quality issues.

Darryl,

He does need to know what the sweet spot is for his fawna. Good information.

Max

2017 Hustler Raptor SD 60"

I'm not sure I could recommend a Raptor SD at this moment. I have almost 11 acres in beautiful North Central Florida that I've owned for a year. I've only been able to mow it straight through without repairing it once. Some things have been hard lessons to learn, some have been poor quality, a lot of it has to do with so many acres and some of them being kind of rough. Right now I'm having issues with the center looking like it's not cutting at times. Yes, the grass is way higher than normal, so I'm chalking it up to that. I don't think the suction is what it should be. Issues? I went through a ton of drive belts until I switched to a Gates 6851 Power Rated Belt with an aramid core and shortened the spring. I've replaced over a dozen of blade post bearings and even one post. I slimed the tires, so they stay nice and full. A friend suggested putting the deck a 1/4 higher in the rear, but that seemed to cause more issues.

Hello Chairman,

Sorry to hear you're not happy with the Raptor. I'm going to the last part of your post first. Raising the rear of your deck will not make a problem go away, if anything, it can make things worse depending upon how dense your fawna. If one were to raise any portion of the deck, the front by a quarter may be of some help although you also lose a part of the vacuum from the blades. Usually when leaving a part of the central portion of the cut, conditions of speed relative to dampness (or lack thereof again depending upon the type of fawna) along with lack of sufficient vacuum from blades can cause stragglers.


Bearings are a part of normal wear and tear and especially on 11 acres if you are hitting it pretty much non-stop. The factory bearings are pretty good, however there are even better quality bearings on the market and you won't find them at a mower shop or online. Go to your local auto parts store or if you have a bearing company nearby, give them one of your bearings and lay down the denero to get the heaviest side load, precision bearings you can afford. Once you have done that, mow on brother, hammer down. You could drill and thread the spindle housings for a grease zerk, use the cheaper quality bearings by removing the grease seal from one side on both of the bearings. Then grease the spindles every time you mow. Should solve your bearing problem.

The drive belt tension spring being shortened didn't hurt a thing and will definitely put more side load on the belt inside the pulleys as well as more pressure on the spindle bearings. (I think we talked about bearing problem above. lol) With the extra side loads, a greaseable spindle may be in your future.

To be honest, sounds as though that little old cheapo RSD is standing up to 11 acres pretty well. Normal wear and tear is to be expected. You can always make improvements on a RSD such as belt guard ventilation to keep the belt pulleys from being impacted by clogging, burning belts and throwing off or breaking belts. I'll include a couple of examples herein. Most likely the cause of your belt problems.

You may also want to increase your fuel capacity. I recommend you do not do this as this was for my own use. I did it this way and if you do so, I will not accept any responsibility in your choice to do so. It adds approximately another gallon of fuel capacity. Make less trips back to the fueling station or as we say in Arkansas, back at the barn.

A seat belt really helps hold you back into the saddle on rough areas and I wouldn't ride without it anymore considering the three fractures in my spine. It isn't for roll over purposes, simply to hold your butt in the rear of the saddle.

There are other upgrades if you're interested. Let me know.

Good luck,

Max